1. Field of the Invention
Apparatuses consistent with the present invention relate to exhaust systems for buildings, and more particularly to exhaust apparatuses for conducting exhaust gasses from one or more exhaust ducts through a wall of a building.
2. Description of the Related Art
Design and construction of multiple unit buildings, for example apartment buildings, condominiums and office buildings, as well as residential structures, require accommodations for external venting for appliances, for example clothes dryers, as well as exhaust fans for cook tops and bathrooms. One solution for external venting is to provide one or more common internal exhaust stacks extending up through the roof of the structure to which multiple vents are attached. However, this solution reduces the usable internal building space.
Another solution for external venting is to individually vent each exhaust fan and appliance in each of the multiple units. In this case, and an external exhaust fixture is required to conduct each exhaust duct through the exterior of the structure.
However, several problems exist with such a solution. Presently, each exhaust duct must be connected to its own exhaust fixture resulting in a large number of exhaust fixtures protruding through the exterior of the building. Further, exhaust ducts have different diameters depending on their application. Therefore, different exhaust fixtures necessary to accommodate the different sized ducts must be installed. Also, design and construction constraints can dictate different orientations of the exhaust fixture requiring additional exhaust fixtures which differ based on the orientation in which they must be installed.
Further, currently available exhaust fixtures protrude excessively from the exterior surface of the building increasing the possibility of moisture entry as well as back flow of exhaust and noise produced by internal exhaust fixture draft dampers fluctuating due to wind currents flowing along the exterior of the building surface.